Quad core or i7? And homebuilt PC forums

[Al Bundy]

I havent built a PC in many, many years for myself.

I have to upgrade now. I want my PC to last me several years, at least 3
years without upgrading anything except the RAM and Hard drives. I'm an
Intel person. I'll be doing lots of multtasking and video editing/authoring.

I'm really undecided on everything. I do need a motherboard that is very
common and that will support hard drive upgrades of over 2 TB. I will
likely get a local PC store to build it but I would like a decent non mini
case with significant cooling. I likely will need a good clean PSU of 750
watts.

Any suggestions on what CPU, RAM, MB, CASE, VIDEO, HEAT SINK, FAN combos I
should consider?

Also, I used to have bookmarked some really good forums where people could
also help out in building a system. Any suggestions there?

Thanks

 

[Rod Speed]

Al Bundy wrote

I havent built a PC in many, many years for myself.

I have to upgrade now. I want my PC to last me several years, at least 3 years without upgrading anything except the
RAM and Hard drives. I'm an Intel person. I'll be doing lots of multtasking and video editing/authoring.

I'm really undecided on everything. I do need a motherboard that is
very common and that will support hard drive upgrades of over 2 TB.

They all handle those fine now.

I will likely get a local PC store to build it but I would like a decent non mini case with significant cooling. I
likely will need a good clean PSU of 750 watts.

Any suggestions on what CPU, RAM, MB, CASE, VIDEO, HEAT SINK, FAN combos I should consider?

I like samsung drives myself, nice and quiet and cool running.

Also, I used to have bookmarked some really good forums where people
could also help out in building a system. Any suggestions there?

What you chose is pretty adequate.

 

[Bob]

I havent built a PC in many, many years for myself.

I have to upgrade now.  I want my PC to last me several years, at least3
years without upgrading anything except the RAM and Hard drives.  I'm an
Intel person. I'll be doing lots of multtasking and video editing/authoring.

I'm really undecided on everything. I do need a motherboard that is very
common and  that will support hard drive upgrades of over 2 TB. I will
likely get a local PC store to build it but I would like a decent non mini
case with significant cooling. I likely will need a good clean PSU of 750
watts.

Any suggestions on what CPU, RAM, MB, CASE, VIDEO, HEAT SINK, FAN combos I
should consider?

Also, I used to have bookmarked some really good forums where people could
also help out in building a system.  Any suggestions there?

Thanks

One suggestion - ECC memory, and a mainboard and CPU
combination that supports it.

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com

 

[geoff]

Leo LaPorte said on his weekly radio show that dell sells at the cheapest
price you can find because their profit margins are razor thin.

If you want to save more money, look in their scratch and dent section, and
choose a computer, as if you were going to buy it. A search window comes up
and you can search for other computers based on different criteria.

The list changes several times in a day, so, if you do not see what you want
now, it may be there 4 hours later.

I build my own computers because I like doing it and I can build it exactly
the way I want it. However, I would never go the route of having a store
build it. They could take shortcuts and not tell you. In that situation
(not wanting to build yourself), I would get a dell.

--g

 

[Koda]

I havent built a PC in many, many years for myself.

I have to upgrade now. I want my PC to last me several years, at least 3
years without upgrading anything except the RAM and Hard drives. I'm an
Intel person. I'll be doing lots of multtasking and video editing/authoring.

I'm really undecided on everything. I do need a motherboard that is very
common and that will support hard drive upgrades of over 2 TB. I will
likely get a local PC store to build it but I would like a decent non mini
case with significant cooling. I likely will need a good clean PSU of 750
watts.

Any suggestions on what CPU, RAM, MB, CASE, VIDEO, HEAT SINK, FAN combos I
should consider?

Also, I used to have bookmarked some really good forums where people could
also help out in building a system. Any suggestions there?

Thanks

I'd say use MSI X58 Eclipse SLI motherboard, really good for anything
and probably the best piece of hardware MSI has
ever produced.
If for some reason you dont like MSI you can always go for the
alternatives from ASUS or Gigabyte.
About the cpu any model should be enough but if you have unlimited
buget you should definetly go for the top models.
About the card... I don't do any video editing or graphics at all but
if u are primarily doing such work you should get a workstation card.
I hope this helps

 

[Al Bundy]

geoff wrote:
:: Leo LaPorte said on his weekly radio show that dell sells at the
:: cheapest price you can find because their profit margins are razor
:: thin.
::
:: If you want to save more money, look in their scratch and dent
:: section, and choose a computer, as if you were going to buy it. A
:: search window comes up and you can search for other computers based
:: on different criteria.
::
:: The list changes several times in a day, so, if you do not see what
:: you want now, it may be there 4 hours later.
::
:: I build my own computers because I like doing it and I can build it
:: exactly the way I want it. However, I would never go the route of
:: having a store build it. They could take shortcuts and not tell
:: you. In that situation (not wanting to build yourself), I would get
:: a dell.
::

I looked at Dell and scratched them off my list pretty early. There top of
the line XPS Studio line motherboard only supports up to 1 TB of hard
drive(s). That's it!
However, I'm leaning toward a Quad Core since the i7 is still very new and
obviously more expensive.

I agree about the stores building it for you. If they do take a shortcut, I
can usually figure it out myself and fix things up. The hard part for me
(has been) aligning the motherboard with the case and grounding the
motherboard properly. Some of the connections like USB to the case haven't
worked and often required some soldering or whatever.

 

[Al Bundy]

Koda wrote:
:: I'd say use MSI X58 Eclipse SLI motherboard, really good for
:: anything and probably the best piece of hardware MSI has
:: ever produced.
:: If for some reason you dont like MSI you can always go for the
:: alternatives from ASUS or Gigabyte.
:: About the cpu any model should be enough but if you have unlimited
:: buget you should definetly go for the top models.
:: About the card... I don't do any video editing or graphics at all
:: but if u are primarily doing such work you should get a workstation
:: card. I hope this helps

Several years ago, I bought an Asus motherboard model that hardly anybody
new about and consequently nobody had. I don't want to run into that
situation again. I thought, it's an Asus, it's got to be good? Wrong.

 

[Rod Speed]

I looked at Dell and scratched them off my list pretty early. There
top of the line XPS Studio line motherboard only supports up to 1 TB
of hard drive(s). That's it!

Thats a pretty unusual machine tho, it doesnt apply to the rest of their stuff.

However, I'm leaning toward a Quad Core since the i7 is still very
new and obviously more expensive.

I agree about the stores building it for you. If they do take a shortcut, I can usually figure it out myself and fix
things up.

The hard part for me (has been) aligning the motherboard with the case and grounding the motherboard properly.

You wont find many stores do that last.

Some of the connections like USB to the case haven't worked and often required some soldering or whatever.

Just bad luck, I've never had to do that with any I have built.

 

[Rod Speed]

Several years ago, I bought an Asus motherboard model that hardly
anybody new about and consequently nobody had. I don't want to run
into that situation again. I thought, it's an Asus, it's got to be good? Wrong.

It isnt that hard to work out which are the obscure asus motherboards and which arent.

 

[Al Bundy]

Rod Speed wrote:
:::
::: I looked at Dell and scratched them off my list pretty early. There
::: top of the line XPS Studio line motherboard only supports up to 1 TB
::: of hard drive(s). That's it!
::
:: Thats a pretty unusual machine tho, it doesnt apply to the rest of
:: their stuff.

Are you sure? I've called them up to confirm after looking on their
website's tech specs and the maximum their PCs support at this time is 2 TB
of hard drive.
For example:
http://www1.ca.dell.com/ca/en/home/desktops/xpsdt_630/pd.aspx?refid=xpsdt_630&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1
Up to 1TB SATA-II (3GB/s, 7200 RPM with Data Burst Cache)
Up to 2TB SATA-II RAID 0 with Dual Hard Drives
Up to 1TB SATA-II RAID 1 with Dual Hard Drives
160GB SATA-II WD Raptor (3GB/s, 10000 RPM with 16MB Data Burst Cache)
320GB (2X160GB HD) SATA-II RAID 0 with Dual WD Raptor Hard Drives (3GB/s,
10000 RPM, mirror)
160GB SATA-II RAID 1 with Dual WD Raptor Hard Drives (3GB/s, 10000 RPM,
mirror)

 

[Al Bundy]

Rod Speed wrote:
::
::: Several years ago, I bought an Asus motherboard model that hardly
::: anybody new about and consequently nobody had. I don't want to run
::: into that situation again. I thought, it's an Asus, it's got to be
::: good? Wrong.
::
:: It isnt that hard to work out which are the obscure asus
:: motherboards and which arent.

Do you have some hints that'll you can share?

 

[Rod Speed]

Al Bundy wrote

Rod Speed wrote

Are you sure?
Yep.

I've called them up to confirm after looking on their website's tech specs and the maximum their PCs support at this
time is 2 TB of hard drive.
For example:
http://www1.ca.dell.com/ca/en/home/desktops/xpsdt_630/pd.aspx?refid=xpsdt_630&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1
Up to 1TB SATA-II (3GB/s, 7200 RPM with Data Burst Cache)
Up to 2TB SATA-II RAID 0 with Dual Hard Drives
Up to 1TB SATA-II RAID 1 with Dual Hard Drives
160GB SATA-II WD Raptor (3GB/s, 10000 RPM with 16MB Data Burst Cache)
320GB (2X160GB HD) SATA-II RAID 0 with Dual WD Raptor Hard Drives (3GB/s, 10000 RPM, mirror)
160GB SATA-II RAID 1 with Dual WD Raptor Hard Drives (3GB/s, 10000 RPM, mirror)

Thats what they supply not what the system can do.

 

[Rod Speed]

Al Bundy wrote

Rod Speed wrote

Do you have some hints that'll you can share?

Yep, its completely trivial to see what are the volume selling motherboards
from any of the sites that allow buyers to make comments on particular
motherboards etc and from just google searches on particular motherboards.

 

[Al Bundy]

Rod Speed wrote:
:: :
::: Do you have some hints that'll you can share?
::
:: Yep, its completely trivial to see what are the volume selling
:: motherboards from any of the sites that allow buyers to make
:: comments on particular motherboards etc and from just google
:: searches on particular motherboards.

I'd rather look it a bit differently. I'd like to see what boards are
popular (have high sales) and then narrow it down from there.
For me, trying to find a MB is in some respects like trying to find a needle
in a haystack. Many board manufacturers confuse things even more by offering
"deluxe" models. While some boards offer crossfire or SLI, others don't.
Memory timings can also be daunting and whether one should choose ECC or
not. I recall years and years ago there were [popular] sites that offered
great advice on choosing on a MB and CPU combination, including stepping and
where the CPU is manufactured. Now, there are so many [new] sites many with
low traffic that it's overwhelming for someone like me to do choose what to
get.

 

[Al Bundy]

Rod Speed wrote:
::: I've called them up to confirm after looking on their website's
::: tech specs and the maximum their PCs support at this time is 2 TB
::: of hard drive.

::: For example:
:::
http://www1.ca.dell.com/ca/en/home/desktops/xpsdt_630/pd.aspx?refid=xpsdt_630&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1
::: Up to 1TB SATA-II (3GB/s, 7200 RPM with Data Burst Cache)
::: Up to 2TB SATA-II RAID 0 with Dual Hard Drives
::: Up to 1TB SATA-II RAID 1 with Dual Hard Drives
::: 160GB SATA-II WD Raptor (3GB/s, 10000 RPM with 16MB Data Burst
::: Cache) 320GB (2X160GB HD) SATA-II RAID 0 with Dual WD Raptor Hard
::: Drives (3GB/s, 10000 RPM, mirror) 160GB SATA-II RAID 1 with Dual WD
::: Raptor Hard Drives (3GB/s, 10000 RPM, mirror)
::
:: Thats what they supply not what the system can do.

I see. Still, not being able to see the case et al is a problem for me.
How much cooling and whether or not additional case fans or hard drive
coolers can be mounted is a concern. And PSU upgradability? Let's not also
forget many of the Dell units have or require mini-video cards.

Do u have any suggestions on a Dell system that you like?

 

[Rod Speed]

Al Bundy wrote

Rod Speed wrote

I'd rather look it a bit differently. I'd like to see what boards are
popular (have high sales) and then narrow it down from there.

Thats essentially what I was saying.

For me, trying to find a MB is in some respects like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Its nothing like that bad.

Many board manufacturers confuse things even more by offering "deluxe" models.

Thats really only a consideration when you have decided on one board or a few.

While some boards offer crossfire or SLI, others don't.

Its only something that matters for gamers.

Memory timings can also be daunting
Nope.

and whether one should choose ECC or not.

Not. Its not something that a desktop system needs.

I recall years and years ago there were [popular] sites that offered great advice on choosing on a MB and CPU
combination, including stepping and where the CPU is manufactured.

Hardly anyone builds systems anymore.

Now, there are so many [new] sites many with low traffic that it's overwhelming for someone like me to do choose what
to get.

It isnt that hard to work out what motherboards are popular.

 

[Rod Speed]

Al Bundy wrote

Rod Speed wrote

I see. Still, not being able to see the case et al is a problem for me. How much cooling and whether or not
additional case fans or hard
drive coolers can be mounted is a concern. And PSU upgradability?

Yeah, something to be said for the name cases bought separately.

Tho I personally just use the cheap no name cases
myself and dont bother to use the case covers at all.

Let's not also forget many of the Dell units have or require mini-video cards.

Do u have any suggestions on a Dell system that you like?

I dont go that route myself. I build from scratch, choosing
the motherboard first, concentrating on asus and intel cpus.

I dont care for gigabyte myself, they release stuff too early and you
end up with lots of motherboard revs in the field and too many warts
in the early releases that get fixed by a later rev level.

 

[Paul]

Rod Speed wrote:
::
::: Several years ago, I bought an Asus motherboard model that hardly
::: anybody new about and consequently nobody had. I don't want to run
::: into that situation again. I thought, it's an Asus, it's got to be
::: good? Wrong.
::
:: It isnt that hard to work out which are the obscure asus
:: motherboards and which arent.

Do you have some hints that'll you can share?

Visit newegg.com and the motherboard section. Sort the
motherboard list by "most reviewed". That will instantly tell
you what is popular.

Second place to stop, in particular for Asus, is vip.asus.com .
There are about 900 threads here for the P6T Deluxe. You can
compare that to some of their other motherboards, using the
motherboard menu selector.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board_id=1&model=P6T+Deluxe&SLanguage=en-us

Before you buy that XPS 630, look around for reviews. The
XPS 630, if that is what you're shopping for, appears to
use an Nvidia 650i chipset. There are better choices.
The motherboard picture I looked at, had solid polymer caps,
only around the CPU socket, while the rest were older
electrolytics. If you were to buy a retail Gigabyte
motherboard, you'll find some filled with solid polymer
caps.

What you're getting from Dell is a "package". But if it
requires contacting them, looking to them to deliver on
what they promised, you may be wishing you built this
yourself. Check the Dell forums, on the products
your interested in, before you buy.

For me, the deal breaker from Dell, would be the OS installation.
I want a real install CD, so I can do a "repair" install if I want
to. That takes less work to fix up, than nuking the C: drive
completely. That is one reason you'd never catch me buying
a Dell.

Paul

 

[Al Bundy]

Paul wrote:
::
:: Visit newegg.com and the motherboard section. Sort the
:: motherboard list by "most reviewed". That will instantly tell
:: you what is popular.

Good tip!
::
:: Second place to stop, in particular for Asus, is vip.asus.com .
:: There are about 900 threads here for the P6T Deluxe. You can
:: compare that to some of their other motherboards, using the
:: motherboard menu selector.
::
http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board_id=1&model=P6T+Deluxe&SLanguage=en-us

Wow. Lots of threads. I found though the Asus forums doesn't have a lot of
posters and the site is dreadfully slow.
::
:: Before you buy that XPS 630, look around for reviews. The
:: XPS 630, if that is what you're shopping for, appears to
:: use an Nvidia 650i chipset. There are better choices.
:: The motherboard picture I looked at, had solid polymer caps,
:: only around the CPU socket, while the rest were older
:: electrolytics. If you were to buy a retail Gigabyte
:: motherboard, you'll find some filled with solid polymer
:: caps.

The truth is that I am very very reluctant to buy from Dell unless it's for
a family member or someone who doesn't use the PC much or know much about
it. I really don't trust the Dell reps, especially when they're either
located in India (the worst) or the Phillipines. However, if their system
allows for multiple hard drives and includes the OS like Windows 7, a Dell
seems great value.

Do u have any other tips on on the hardware components on what to look for?
The solid polymer caps is a really good one.

FWIW. One tech computer techy at a store that sells a lot of gigabyte MBs
and strongly suggested that I do NOT go with Gigabyte if I plan to go with
the i7 CPU. I imagine it would be ok if I would ok but I'm not familiar
with them.

:: What you're getting from Dell is a "package". But if it
:: requires contacting them, looking to them to deliver on
:: what they promised, you may be wishing you built this
:: yourself. Check the Dell forums, on the products
:: your interested in, before you buy.

I know....it's the cost that'll go through the roof if I build it myself.
::
:: For me, the deal breaker from Dell, would be the OS installation.
:: I want a real install CD, so I can do a "repair" install if I want
:: to. That takes less work to fix up, than nuking the C: drive
:: completely. That is one reason you'd never catch me buying
:: a Dell.
:
On my laptop, I have the windows cd. I usually have to do a full restore
though as no matter what PC I've used, repairing the installation was only a
half-assed solution and I had to reformat anyways. I since began to create
an image of the newly installed OS, much like Dell already has in their
hidden partition.

 

[Al Bundy]

Rod Speed wrote:
:: I dont go that route myself. I build from scratch, choosing
:: the motherboard first, concentrating on asus and intel cpus.
::
:: I dont care for gigabyte myself, they release stuff too early and you
:: end up with lots of motherboard revs in the field and too many warts
:: in the early releases that get fixed by a later rev level.

That's the best way too, but I havent kept in the loop. It seems the changes
happening these days are much more frequent and at a faster pace then yester
years. I still love my old Abit BH-6 motherboard. Now, that was a great
board. Now, I don't even know if Abit even exists and the choices are almost
endless in choosing a board. Since Abit isn't popular any more, I have no
choice but to go with Asus but I really don't like them much since I've had
my issues with them before. Besides, Asus customer support really sucks.